Before I Die
by LeighAidan
Summary: Drabbles; The Teen Titans live out my bucket list. Stories mainly centered around Raven. Includes a lot of RobRae and Titan friendship, some AU. Chapter 5: It was obvious he was uncomfortable, and for what reasons he was unsure. It could be that he was finally getting married. Or it could be that he could absolutely not tie the tie around his neck. Genre: Angst/Romance
1. Kiss In The Rain

Before I Die…

Summary: AU- Raven could kill him. Not only did he refuse to stop for gas, but after the car stopped working he locked them out. And it was raining…hard. Genre: Romance/Humor; RobRae

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"_I like the rain, actually." - Bill Rodgers_

Raven glared profusely as he pulled and pulled at the door handle. Raven watched with narrowed eyes as he banged he fist on the window. She supposed she should go help him, but she was currently far too angry to be within three feet of him. It was safer if she stayed where she was right now; underneath the only tree in this forsaken land of Nowhere.  
Raven knew that if she got too close she just might kill him. Raven could kill him, actually. Not only did he refuse to stop for gas, insisting they had plenty to get them home, but after the car stopped working he had locked them out. Raven winced as a drop of water fell in her eye. 'And,' she mused, 'it's raining.' As though the sky heard her thoughts, the rain began to fall harder, turning into a monsoon. 'Scratch that. It's raining…hard.'  
When the torrent of rain had picked up, Richard came running underneath the tree where Raven stood. He looked completely different than he did an hour ago. The hair gel had been washed out by the rain and his jet black hair was plastered to his face, his red polo was now a maroon color, completely soaked through, his jeans looked to be sagging, weighted down by all the water, and, Raven fought back a laugh, his tennis shoes squished and squashed every step he took.  
He stood beside her and watched the road. Raven joined him and silently prayed someone would drive past slow enough for them to run out and ask for help. The only sound was that of the rain pouring around them. After several minutes of silence, however, Richard spoke up.

"Raven," he started, his tone defeated. "I'm sorry." He looked down at her and Raven felt her anger melting away. His entire being was soaked and his blue eyes were swirling with emotions. "I should have stopped when you said to. I just," he sighed, "I thought there was plenty of gas to get us home." Raven smiled. She knew he was truly sorry if he was admitting he was wrong. Getting Richard to set his pride aside was one of the hardest things in the world.  
As the last of Raven's anger melted away at his apology, she put a gentle hand on his cheek and turned his face to hers.

"It's okay," she spoke softly, hoping that she could make him feel better. She never was the best at comforting people.

"No, it's not okay," Richard said almost angrily. "I was stubborn and now we're locked out of the car in the middle of nowhere and it's raining." Raven opened her mouth to reply but quickly closed it as she realized her reply was sarcastic. 'You're trying to comfort him, not make him feel worse,' she chastised herself. She looked out at the rain and smiled again.

"The rain is slowing down," she pointed out, watching as the rain became nothing more than a heavy drizzle. Raven felt Richard lean into her touch and she turned her attention back to him. He smiled tenderly at her.

"Since when do you comfort people?" he asked, his voice teasing, and Raven knew she had succeeded already. At his question, however, she scoffed.

"I can comfort people anytime I choose," she stated haughtily. "I just choose not to most of the time." Richard laughed and grabbed her hand that was still on his cheek.

"Since the rain isn't so bad anymore, let's go try to open the door again," Richard suggested, not giving her time to answer and merely pulling her into the dripping rain. Raven felt her hair start to plaster onto her head and she glared once more at him. She started to pull out of his grasp but changed her mind. By the time she would get back to the shelter of the tree, she would be as wet as he was. It would be pointless to turn back now. She trembled and glared harder. Now they were stranded in the middle of nowhere, locked out of the car, and she was wet and cold.  
They made it over to the car and Richard pulled and pulled at the door handle once more. After several more tries, he gave up. He turned to look at his girlfriend, the defeated expression back on his face. With no warning whatsoever, Raven forced her shivering body to walk over to where Richard stood. She put her cold arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. He responded immediately and wrapped his equally cold arms around her waist, pulling them closer together. She moaned slightly and felt a rush of heat that went from her mouth to her toes. Her arms tightened around his neck as she deepened the kiss and it was his turn to moan.  
They kissed until they needed air. As they pulled apart, Richard rested his forehead against hers and looked confusedly into her hooded eyes.

"Not that I mind," he began, his voice breathy, "but why. I've done nothing but mess this night up," Richard reminded her as he moved a strand of wet hair that fell in front of her face.

"Kori would kill me if I didn't kiss you in the rain," Raven explained quietly. "'It's every girl's dream,'" she quoted. Richard smiled.

"Was it your dream?" he asked just as quietly.

"I'd never really thought about it until just then. But it was nice." Richard cupped her chin and kissed her softly. Raven's felt her eyes flutter and close at the gentle contact.

"I guess this was all worth it then," Richard mumbled against her lips. Raven's look of content quickly changed. She pulled back and glared at him.

"No," she said sharply. "We are stranded in the middle of nowhere. We are locked outside the car, it's raining, and I'm absolutely freezing. The kiss in the rain was nice, but we can do that at one of our houses. If it's raining we can run outside, kiss and be back where it's warm. But right now we are stuck in this horrendous weather." Raven turned on her heel and started back to the tree. "Come get me when you figure out how to get us home," she yelled over her shoulder. Richard stared after her and groaned. It was going to be a long time before she decided to forgive him.

_Before I Die…Kiss in the rain._

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AN: Hello, everyone! I hope you're all doing good. Allow me to explain what exactly this is.

This "story" isn't a story at all. They are unrelated (unless otherwise noted) one-shots of the Teen Titans doing things that I have on my bucket list. Some are regular universe, some are AU. There are some of every genre. I will put down a small summary, genres, and if there is a couple, who it is. These are really just for fun but I'm not spending too much time on them. I needed something to work on while I continue writing _Red Light, Green Light_ (which is going pretty good, thank you everyone who has read/reviewed/favorited/etc). These are just fun little drabbles. And yes, everything in these drabbles, are on my bucket list. Some are cheesy (like kissing in the rain) and some are just plain fun, some serious. It all just depends.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Expect some of these often or not for a long while. These are not my main focus right now, but I have summaries for twenty-five of them already. Hope you enjoyed and thank you for reading!

EDIT: JUNE 23, 2012; 8:00 PM - Okay, I just went back and fixed my absolutely horrid grammar and spelling in this. Remind me to not write at four in the morning anymore.


	2. Darts

Before I Die…

Summary: : AU- Richard grabbed Raven and pulled her into the room. Lifting something from the desk into his hands, Richard closed his eyes, aimed, and fired. Genre: Romance/Humor

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Raven walked around Wayne Manor, taking in all the history. The manor was like a museum of sorts. It held artifacts going back to the creation of Gotham City. The city began with an English explorer by the name of Henry Hudson who was hired by the Dutch East India Company to chart a passageway to Asia. On his journey he discovered what would be the future East-coast of the United States of America. Dutch explorers followed this course and settled in a town they named Nieuw Rotterdam, which would later become Gotham City. They Wayne family was part of this original group of Dutch explorers. In the 18th century, the name of the town changed to Gotham Town and it was a major port city. Darius Wayne, son of Charles Wayne, the first Wayne in Gotham Town, began the construction of the estate that is now Wayne Manor. In the mid 1900's, Gotham evolved with the time and became known as Gotham City. The Wayne family had been here since the beginning and that was quite obvious by all the historical artifacts lining the many halls of the Wayne Manor. [1]

Too distracted by what surrounded her, Raven didn't notice a door near the end of the hall go ajar. She didn't notice the one eye that peered at her through the slight fissure. She continued to walk, oblivious to the fact that she was being watched. As she reached the end of the hallway, right next to the agape door, she saw an old photograph of Gotham City, back when it was probably Gotham Town. She was so focused on the photograph that she failed to see the arm that snuck out of door. Feeling a hand close around her mouth, she tried to yelp, but it was too late as she was pulled into a dark room.

Thrashing her arms around to get out of whoever's grasp she was in, Raven heard her attacker laugh. She thrashed even more until she heard him speak.

"Chill out, Rae!" Richard chuckled, letting go of her as he flicked on the light. She turned to stare at him before crossing her arms over her chest.

"What the hell, Richard?" Raven nearly exclaimed, her tone absolutely furious. Richard laughed even harder.

"Did I scare you?" he teased, watching as a blush worked its way onto Raven's cheeks.

"Well it's not like I expected someone in this house to hide, grab me like some crazy assailant, and forcibly drag me into a dark room," Raven defended, trying to fight down the redness on her face. She looked around to take in the room now that the light was on. It appeared to be an old study of some sort. There was dust everywhere and Raven assumed it hadn't been used in quite a while. Books and papers were stacked everywhere, a giant map of the world hung above the large desk, filing cabinets littered the entire left side of the room, and dust covered every surface. "What is this place?" Raven asked.

"It's an old study," Richard said as slid his finger across the top of one of the filing cabinets, wiping off a line of filth. "I think it was used by Bruce's grandfather for planning Wayne Enterprises and later was used by Bruce's dad, Thomas. Bruce never comes in here. I think he wants to preserve it; keep it looking just as it did when Thomas died," Richard explained [2]. "It's always been a great place for hide-and-go-seek, though. When we were little, I used to tell Jason and Tim stories about how this room was haunted by ghosts and that's why Bruce and Alfred never came in here." Richard smiled at the memory. "Then I would hide in here and literally win every game of hide-and-go-seek because they were too afraid to check in this room." Raven rolled her eyes. Of course Richard would attempt to traumatize his younger brothers just to win a game. He was overly competitive like that. [3]

"So," Raven began, "why did you haul me in here?"

"Well the summer is almost here and I want to do something crazy," Richard said, smiling at her. Raven nearly cringed when he said the word crazy. When most people said crazy, it just meant doing something they wouldn't normally do. When Richard said crazy, it meant he probably wanted to do something that could a) potentially take his life, b) potentially get him and whoever happened to be with him in a lot of trouble, c) potentially risk his life and whoever's life that happened to be with him, or d) all of the above.

"What exactly to you mean by "crazy?"" Raven asked. Richard just winked at her and picked something up from the desk. Going back to the far wall, Richard pulled blindfold out of his pocket and tied it around his head. Once his eyes were completely covered and he couldn't see a thing, he raised his hand, and let go of the dart. The dart whirred through the air. Sooner or later it had to stop and when it did, it hit the map of the world that was hanging above the cedar wood desk. Raven merely watched with a raised eyebrow as Richard pulled off the blindfold and walked over to the map. He looked at the dart and turned to Raven with a smile.

"How do you feel about going to Greece?"

_Before I Die…Throw a dart at a map and travel wherever it lands._

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AN: Hello everyone! Welcome to another installment of _Before I Die…_I want to thank everyone who has reviewed, favorited, author alerted, story alerted, etc. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter as well! I'm hoping to work on the other while I go on a mini vacation.

I want to apologize for not getting any chapters out lately. Some very tragic family events have happened and stalled my writing, but do not fear! The fifth chapter of _Red Light, Green Light _is almost complete and should be out by next Sunday!

On this chapter: Who doesn't want to do this? I think this would be the coolest thing ever! Just to throw a dart and go where it lands! (With my luck, however, every time I threw it, the dart would probably end up in the middle of the ocean.) Definitely want to do this with a friend, my sister, boyfriend, or my future husband one day. That would be the coolest!

[1] - I discovered all of this on the Gotham City wiki. Pretty neat that there is an actual "history" behind Gotham. I can totally see Bruce having some of the really old artifacts of Gotham in his house because, well, he's Bruce Wayne and can have whatever he wants.

[2] - I have no idea if there is actually a room like this in Wayne Manor, but it would be cool if there was.

[3] - The canon AU in my head has Jason, Tim, and Damian all still living with Bruce and having a very interesting brother-relationship with Richard. I'm hoping to incorporate those relationships a little better in _Red Light, Green Light. _(Oohh spoilers)

Thanks for reading!


	3. Dance

Before I Die…

Summary: He wasn't her dad. He wasn't even her brother. But he was the closest she had ever had. Genre: Family/Friendship; Not so subtly hinted RobRae

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"_There's no other love like the love for a brother. There's no other love like the love from a brother." - Terri Guillemets_

The song faded out slowly as the couple in the middle of the floor halted their gently swaying. Their foreheads rested against one another, their eyes closed, and their faces adorned with blissful smiles. The audience surrounding the dance floor smiled at the happiness the newly wed couple radiated.

Richard slowly opened his cerulean eyes to gaze down at his new wife. Her amethyst eyes were hidden by her long, dark eyelashes that rested against her cheeks. Her deep violet hair was held back elegantly by her sheer, white veil. Her full lips were upturned gently at the corners. She was beautiful.

"Raven…" he whispered, his breath ghosting against her lips. Amethyst eyes fluttered open. He smiled sweetly down at her. "I love you," he murmured. Raven smiled up to her husband and pressed her lips softly against his.

"I love you, too," she breathed, flexing her tiny left hand in his right, drawing both of their attentions to the glittering silver band on her ring finger. The music had completely stopped and the only noises throughout the large ballroom in Wayne Manor [1] were the hushed tones of all the guests. Noticing it was time to move on, Raven slowly unwound her arms from Richard's neck and took a miniscule step backwards. They took each other's hands, ready to move off the dance floor, when Wally [2], who was currently in charge of the music got on the microphone.

"Hold up, beautiful," he started, drawing the lights into a spotlight on the couple once more. "There's one more dance for you." Raven and Richard were now facing Wally, giving the speedster a look of confusion. He merely flashed them a brilliant, reassuring smile. "It's time for the father/daughter dance."

The crowd began chattering rather noisily at the news as Richard stared shockingly down at Raven.

"I didn't know your father was coming…" he whispered. Raven glared.

"Of course he isn't coming," she said angrily, trying to spot her mother in the large crowd. "I don't know what kind of sick joke Wally or Gar or whoever is trying to pull bu-" she was cut off as a hand tapped Richard on the shoulder.

"Mind if I cut in?" a deep voice interjected, and the couple turned around to find Cyborg holding out a hand to Raven. Richard smiled brilliantly and gently let go of Raven's hand. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and walked off the dance floor, over to the table where Bruce, Alfred, Selina, and Arella [3] sat. Raven watched his retreating form only to hear Cyborg clear his throat. She looked up to find his one brown eye staring at her. "May I have this dance?" he asked in an overly exaggerated "elegant" sounding voice. Raven rolled her amethyst eyes and placed her small hand in his large metallic one.

"Of course," she confirmed as "Cinderella" [4] came over the speakers. The two danced lightly, just spinning in a simple circle as the meaningful lyrics poured from the speakers, no words spoken for the moment.

_So I danced with Cinderella_

"You look beautiful, Rae," Cyborg's said, his tone quiet. Raven smiled tenderly and rested her head against his tuxedo covered chest.

_While she is here in my arms_

The silence continued a little longer before Cyborg sighed, once again drawing Raven's attention to him.

"I know you hadn't planned for a father/daughter dance for…obvious reasons," he began, "and I'm sorry I changed up your wedding plans. I just-" he stopped short, unable to find the words he wanted to say.

'_Cause I know something the prince never knew_

Raven didn't speak. She knew he needed to find the words himself so she remained quiet and continued their dance, her white wedding dress swirling softly over her feet.

_Well she came home today with a ring on her hand_

Cyborg thought back to when the two birds of the Tower had began dating. He was happy for both of them. It was actually long overdue. He had watched their relationship slowly bloom. They started as companions, just like all of the team, but they developed something deeper; they developed a bond and it already seemed the two had skipped from friendship to something much profound, much more sincere. Years later (Cyborg remembered thinking how overdue this happened to be as well) Raven walked into the common room, a glittering engagement ring on her hand. She didn't come in freaking out, but just continued on with her regular day. She didn't announce it to the world. But Cyborg wasn't fooled. She may have been quiet about it, but she was radiant with happiness. [5]

_Just glowing and telling us all they had planned_

"I know I'm not your dad," he began suddenly, "but I feel like…I feel like this is my duty."

_So I will dance with Cinderella_

"And I know you're going to tell me that I'm not obliged to do this for you, but I want to."

_While she is here in my arms_

"I want to do this because I love you, Raven, like the little sister I always wanted, and every girl deserves to have a father/daughter dance at her wedding."

'_Cause I know something the prince never knew_

Cyborg hung his head with embarrassment, suddenly thinking this may not have been his brightest idea, as he realized his little speech didn't exactly come out the way it sounded in his head. Suddenly, he felt a soft hand cup his face, bringing his brown eye and red eye to meet watery violet ones.

_Oh, I will dance with Cinderella_

"Victor," she began, her voice controlled but slightly shaky, "you may not be my father," she said firmly, "and you aren't even my brother." She gripped his hand tighter in her own. "But you're the closest I've ever had to either one of those." [6]

_I don't want to miss even one song_

Cyborg smiled at the young woman in his arms as she pulled him into a hug. She sniffled ever so quietly and lightly hit his arm. "Now stop making me all emotional," she demanded as the song faded out. Cyborg pulled at her hand and placed a small kiss on it.

"I love you, Rae," he said as other couples began to fill up the dance floor. Raven let go of his hands and began to walk towards her smiling husband. She turned to him as she reached the edge. Her eyes were shining with adoration and happiness.

"I love you, too, Victor," she said, barely loud enough for him to hear, before she smiled that breathtaking smile of hers and walked into Richard's open and loving arms.

'_Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight_

The rest of the reception continued as planned and it was beautiful and elegant. Slowly but surely the guests began to leave and Raven and Richard were getting ready to go for their honeymoon, wherever that may be. (They kept it a secret so the other Titans wouldn't get any ideas about this being a whole family vacation. [7]) They gave hugs to all of their friends and family before a glowing portal appeared beneath them and they vanished.

Cyborg watched all this with bittersweet feeling. His two friends were happy and married, but he felt like he was losing the little sister he had finally gained when the Titans started. Now here she was, off and married, getting ready to start a whole new chapter of her life. She meant so much to him. He smiled at all their memories. He would always have those. _'And think about all the others we still get to make,' _he looked at all the other Titans who were still there at Wayne Manor. _'…together as one family.'_

_And she'll be gone._

_Before I Die…Dance with my dad at my wedding._

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AN: Hello everyone! I hope you're all doing great. My life has been pretty hectic lately but I'm starting to feel writing inspiration coming back. I'm slightly stumped on Chapter 5 of _Red Light, Green Light_ so if anyone is willing to help out with some ideas they would be much appreciated. (:

I hope you all liked this one. I've been wanting to do something like this for while but never knew what to do exactly. I feel like Raven and Cyborg have the closest sibling relationship in the show but it's never shown to its fill extent. I always felt that if Raven were to get married (no matter who you ship with her…unless it's Cyborg…then I guess this wouldn't really work) Cyborg would be the one to give her away and dance with her during the father/daughter dance. So tell me what you thought!

[1]- Wayne Manor would be an absolutely beautiful place to have a wedding. The gardens, the ballroom, the history; everything about the house screams gothic romantic.

[2]- The reason I made Wally the DJ is because he would be prefect for it! He's fun and he runs at super fast speeds so he can change the song, go do whatever he wants to do (drink, dance, talk, etc.), and run back to change the next song.

[3]- For those of you who don't know- Bruce is Batman, aka Robin's (Richard's) father figure, Alfred is their butler but mainly a father figure to Bruce and grandfather figure to Richard, Selina is Catwoman and she is Bruce's true love (at least in my head) so that's why she's over there, and Arella is Raven's mother.

[4]- "Cinderella" is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman. I think it's absolutely beautiful and I really want to dance to this song at my future wedding one day.

[5]- I feel like Cyborg would be pretty aware of who Raven was interested in and who was interested in her because he was an overprotective big brother and needed to be aware of all this.

[6]- I think Raven would always look to Cyborg as her father/brother figure because he always treated her like such. Teaching her new things (working on the T-car, giving her affectionate little nicknames (Rae, Dark Girl, Little Lady).

[7]- Can't you just see Beast Boy thinking that it should be an all included family vacation?

Well, I hope you all liked this one! Tell me what you think! And thank you for all the reviews/favorites/alerts/etc.! They mean the world to me 3


	4. Cereal

Before I Die…

Summary: The Titans had to admit they were concerned when their leader spent $276.32 dollars at the grocery, simply on cereal. Genre: Humor/Friendship

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"_Do we need to have 280 brands of breakfast cereal? No, probably not. But we have them for a reason - because some people like them…" - Bill James_

Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy, and Starfire stood together in front of the doors by the kitchen. All four pairs of eyes were wide as they watched their leader walk in and out of the garage repeatedly. It took him eight trips before he finally began to unload the contents of the bags and the Titans found their eyes widening even more as he pulled out cereal box after cereal box.

As Robin was pulling the cereal boxes out of the third bag, the receipt from his outing to the grocery fell out and fluttered to the floor. Cyborg bent down to pick it up and gaped.

"You spent $276.32 just on cereal?" Cyborg yelled in disbelief. The other three leaned over to look and gasped, seeing it was true.

"Dude!" Beast Boy exclaimed, at a loss for words.

"Friend Robin," Starfire began, her head cocked to the side in confusion, "why would you go to the store of groceries and only buy many cereals?" As Starfire finished her question, Robin looked up with glaring eyes at his four teammates. When he finally spoke, his tone was deathly quiet and intimidating.

"They quit making Crocky Crunchies," he said, as though that were enough of an explanation. Raven's eyebrow rose.

"Crocky Crunchies? That sounds like nothing more than a lot of sugar with a little bit of cereal," Raven commented.

"Don't talk about things you don't understand, Raven," Robin said in the same tone as before, his glare deepening. Raven glared right back, daring him to speak to her that way again, but he ignored her. "Crocky Crunchies are - were - my childhood. I had them every morning for breakfast. Seeing those green crocodile shaped cereal pieces always started my day off right." He opened up the pantry door and started putting as many boxes of cereal he could fit on the top shelf. "Now those monsters, whoever they are, have stopped making Crocky Crunchies at complete disregard as to how it would affect other people." The Titans continued to stare at their leader.

"I think he just fell off the deep end," Beast Boy muttered under his breath.

"What is this deep end, Friend Beast Boy?" Starfire muttered back just as quietly.

"I get that they quit making your favorite cereal and all," Cyborg said, paying no attention to the other two, "but why did you buy so many different kinds at the store?"

"I have to find a new favorite kind of cereal. Nothing will ever be as good as my Crocky Crunchies, but I have to have some kind of cereal to eat in the mornings," Robin explained, his back still turned as he tried to find more places to put his many cereal boxes. At this point, Raven had long given up trying to comprehend the weirdness that had just occurred and Starfire was still trying to figure out what the "deep end" was, so both girls turned and started down the hallway. They didn't make it very far when they heard Cyborg scream.

"Robin! There is not enough room in this kitchen for 88 boxes of cereal!"

"Then make more room! Or go find the makers of Crocky Crunchies and tell them to bring it back!" Robin yelled right back.

"Why are we yelling?" Beast Boy screeched.

"Shut up, Beast Boy!" Robin and Cyborg shouted at the same time.

As the three boys continued to argue pointlessly in the kitchen, Raven looked over at Starfire.

"I believe all three of them have fallen off the deep end," she said, before disappearing into her room. Starfire stood alone in the hallway.

"No one has yet to explain what this so-called deep end is."

_Before I Die…Try every kind of cereal._

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AN: Welcome to the second installment of _Before I Die…!_ This one is a whole lot different than the last. Now, I know what you're thinking…she wants to try every kind of cereal? That's a weird thing to put on your bucket list.

And yes, it is weird, but I like cereal so…The reason I chose Robin as the center of this drabble is that he loves cereal. Don't believe me? Go to google and type in "dick grayson cereal" and images from the comics will show up of him eating cereal. The cereal he is always eating is called Crocky Crunchies. Personally, it sounds like some sugar-loaded kids' cereal (probably because it is) but he seems to love it.

The money and the amount of cereal he bought is all based off of research I did. There are 387 different brands of cereal. The average store sells about 88 different brands. The average box of cereal costs $3.14. $3.14 multiplied by 88 is $276. 32. I didn't include tax because I didn't feel like it.

Anyway, this was just a fun little drabble. Yes, Robin was OOC. It's a little hard to write such a serious character in character when it comes to his favorite kiddie cereal.

Hope you enjoyed! And thank you those who reviewed, favorited, alerted, etc.!

EDIT: JUNE 25, 2012; 11:43 PM: Oh my goodness...why can I not spell or use correct grammar? Made corrections again!


	5. Tie

Before I Die…

Summary: It was obvious he was uncomfortable, and for what reasons he was unsure. It could be that he was finally getting married. Or it could be that he could absolutely not tie the tie around his neck. Genre: Angst/Romance

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"_Love is when the other person's happiness is more important than your own." - H. Jackson Brown_

He had politely asked everyone to leave while he finished the last few tasks of getting ready. It was obvious he was uncomfortable, and for what reasons he was unsure. It could be that there were hundreds of people there to watch. It could be that he was in a fitting tuxedo and anyone who knew him in the slightest knew how much he detested such clothing. It could be that he was finally getting married. Or it could be that he could absolutely not tie the tie around his neck.

Richard fumbled with the long black piece of fabric. As he twisted it and put it through the loops, he seemed to knot if up even more and he groaned in frustration. He quickly made to work with his nimble fingers at untying the snarled fabric and after a minute he once again had it loose (and a bit wrinkly) around his neck. As he walked over to the closet he heard the door to the room creak open and whipped his head to view the unwelcome stranger.

His eyes softened as he watched Raven slip her body through the small crack in the door she had made and quietly close it behind her. She was wearing in the dress for the bridesmaids and it looked lovely on her. Kori, a rather obvious fan of the color purple, had picked out the most beautiful shade of violet for the dresses. It would only be later as the girls were getting fitted that everyone realized the color matched Raven's amethyst eyes perfectly.

Raven looked up at him with those same eyes and he saw the concern radiating from the emotional orbs. He mentally grinned and remembered the day he realized that her emotions may not be displayed openly on her face, but her eyes would always betray her.

"Hi, Raven," Richard said, pulling out a fresh tie from the closet. She gave him a small smile.

"Hello," she whispered, watching him throw the strip of fabric around his neck. She looked rather nervous before she spoke again. "The guys said that you sent them all out…" she trailed. Richard nodded his head.

"Yeah, I just needed some space. All of this," he motioned around himself, "is stressing me out." He looked down at her with a questioning look. "Is it bad that I'm going to be really happy when this is all over?"

"No, I think it will be good for you and Kori. She's been stressed out too," Raven confirmed, remembering Kori frantically running around the room and nearly falling into tears because she lost four bobby pins and her hair wasn't staying up entirely. Richard laughed, imaging Kori frazzled about the wedding.

"I bet she has," he mused. "But thankfully it will be over soon and we'll be married." He fumbled around with the tie around his neck and groaned. "Rae, could you…?" he trailed off, motioning to the tie. Raven stepped forward, getting close enough to where her head was just below his chin. Richard leaned his head back slightly to allow her full access around his neck. His eyes glanced down and he could see her dark, curved eyelashes, the apple of her cheeks, the gentle arch of her nose, and her dark purple hair.

Raven pulled the black tie around his neck and began her work. She pulled at it, crossed it over itself, brought it over the fabric, looped it down and around, and slipped it through the last loop. Her tiny hands smoothly tightened the tie and straightened it out. As she finished, she tilted her head up to look at him. She quickly noticed his stare and flattened the lapels of his tuxedo before stepping back, creating a distance between them.

"There you go," she muttered, wishing the blush away from her cheeks. Richard walked over to the mirror and inspected himself, smiling in satisfaction. He felt any sense of nervousness he once had disappear entirely.

"Thanks, Raven," he said appreciatively. He turned around and held his arms out. "Well? How do I look?" Raven felt her heart clench, but she ignored the jabbing pain and smile reassuringly.

"You look incredibly handsome," she whispered honestly. Richard beamed at her, his own excitement deterring him from seeing her pain. He looked at the clock.

"It's time to head out there," he confirmed and he walked past her to the door. His hand gripped the handle and he turned to face her.

"Hey," he called out, gaining her attention. "You have to teach me how to tie a tie one day." She gave him a half-smile and he returned it before he opened the door, stepped outside, and closed it behind him.

He failed to see the way her face fell as soon as he left the room. He failed to hear her murmur her mantra for the first time in years, trying to keep her emotions in check. He failed to notice the tears that brimmed her beautiful amethyst eyes. He failed to see her love for him. He failed to hear her heart shatter with every step he took away from her.

As Raven stood there, alone in the empty room, her emotions haywire, she chastised herself. These were her friends. She should be ecstatic that they had found happiness. And she was genuinely happy for them. She felt selfish for her feelings. She was Kori's Maid of Honor and here she was, mourning her breaking heart for none other than Kori's soon-to-be husband.

Raven continued to chant her mantra until she felt like she did before the defeat of Trigon. Emotionless. Yes, this was better. This was how it should be. She looked at the door, imagining the couple that would soon be at the altar, sealing their love with rings and a kiss.

'_I will suppress my emotions for him. I will rid myself of them as much as I can. I may not be able to destroy them entirely, but I will make it easier to deal with them,' _she thought, her outward appearance changing to one of understanding. _'I'll do it for him. He deserves happiness more than anyone. Even though I love him, I will never show it. I'll never show it because I love him.' _She began walking towards the door so she could take her place next to Roy, Richard's Best Man, in the line. _'I've always been good at loving from afar.'_

_Before I Die…Learn how to tie a tie._

xxxxx

AN: Hello again everyone! I hope you're all doing well. I haven't had time to write for a while because two of my very good friends just got married! (Hence my two wedding themed stories.) The wedding was beautiful and I'm so happy for them! They kindly asked me to sing at the wedding and I couldn't have been more honored!

This one ended up a little different than I originally had planned. This was supposed to be a RobRae happy/fluffy story but it quickly changed. I'm actually happy with this because this was the first angst-like story I've ever written. Anyway, I don't know how to tie a tie. I know I'm a girl so it's not overly important, but I still want to learn how to do it.

_Red Light, Green Light _is coming along now thanks to Smiles-X-Giggles! She's given me some brilliant ideas so the next chapter will be out very soon!

Thank you everyone who has read/reviewed/favorited/alerted/etc.! It means the world to me!


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